Once in a Lifetime
by CFCfan1
Summary: Once in a lifetime means there is not second chance... Olitz post 2x08 with a few changes to what happened in the episode. Tell me what you think! Also this is my 100th story! YAY!
1. Chapter 1

**So in watching 2x08 I thought of this, I changed a few things up just FYI. Oh and not that I am excited about this or anything but…THIS IS #100! I want to say a quick thanks to everyone who has read my stories and commented on them! I love writing these and I am glad that people enjoy reading them! Anyway back to the story itself…**

Once in a lifetime…it is something that she had never really thought about. Well not until she met him. In that moment she also realized that love at first sight was real. She should have just left after he fired her that day, but she was just too damn stubborn and thought that they could work past whatever they felt for each other. The time when they fought in the Rose Garden before she left the White House…and him. She should have known then that letting him go for good was impossible. She had never seen the pain in his eyes or heard it in his voice more than in the moment when he told her that he belonged to her. She tried to brush it off after she left, she tried to move on with her company, then with Edison, but now as she stood at the foot of his bed watching him cling to life, she realized she may have missed her chance, their chance at really being happy.

When the door opened she jumped slightly not expecting anyone to come in. She turned and saw Mellie walk into the room and freeze when she saw her.

"Mellie," Olivia whispered.

"Olivia…I need you to leave please," Mellie said as calmly as possible. Olivia's face went from confusion to shock in a matter of seconds.

"Mellie…" Olivia tried but Mellie stopped her.

"Don't pretend we are friends. Don't act like I want you here. You call me Madame First Lady, not Mellie because we are not friends!" She said harshly this time.

"No!" Olivia said flatly.

"Excuse me?" Mellie asked putting her hands on her belly to try and show some sort of control over Olivia.

"You don't get to tell me to get out of here. You don't get to try and show that you are better than me because you are pregnant with his baby. I am not leaving this room," Olivia said standing her ground.

"Fine, lets see how Secret Service feel about that," Mellie said turning back towards the door.

"Don't you dare. You hate me Mellie, I understand that. I have done things that have made your life difficult, but don't for one moment try and kick me out of here, because no matter how you feel about me, we both love him. Whatever the status of your marriage is right now, I know that you love him. I know that this is killing you inside, but it is killing me too. I may have been his mistress, but I haven't loved anyone as much as I love him. I am not leaving his side, and I don't expect you to either. He is the man I love, and no matter what you feel about me, you do not get to come in here and pretend that I am nothing. He loves me as much as I love him, you can't kick me out!" Olivia said seriously.

"You ruined my marriage," Mellie seethed.

"No, you did that on your own Mellie. You became obsessed with the power. You stopped caring about your marriage once you realized that he was going to be great because that meant you would have serious power. I am sorry that what we did hurt you, but I didn't ruin your marriage. I was there for him when he needed someone. I was there for him when you were too busy lying about the damn miscarriage, I was there for him," She said with tears in her eyes. "Now he needs both of us…" She whispered. Mellie gave her one last disapproving look before sitting down on one side of Fitz and grabbed his hand. Olivia sat on the other side and did the same.

When Cyrus walked into the room a few hours later he literally stopped in his racks out of pure shock. Olivia and Mellie were sitting on either side of Fitz quietly. They weren't fighting or sending each other looks when they thought they weren't looking. He realized in that moment, that to them what was most important was not their feelings towards each other, but their feelings towards Fitz. He put his hand in his pocket and took hold of what one of the agents had given him earlier. He then walked over to Olivia and shook her slightly waking her up. She sat up quickly obviously a little startled. She looked at Cyrus and smiled slightly before getting up and following him into the hallway.

"How are things at the White House?" She asked rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Sally just took the oath…we are gonna need you to make another briefing," he said seriously. That is when she noticed his messed up hair and his not so straight tie.

"You ok?" She asked giving him a look.

"She is going to drive this administration and country into the ground…but I'll find a way to handle it." He said smiling slightly to reassure her. "How is he?" He asked quietly.

"No change of course…I can't lose him Cyrus," She finished with a whisper.

"He is one stubborn bastard…he'll be ok," He said trying to cheer her up. She gave a small smile. "Back when I first found out about you two…he and I had a little talk in the Oval. He was a little drunk, but sober enough to know what he was saying. He told me everything…from when it started to what happened with Amanda," he said and saw her eyes drop at the mention of Amanda. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, bringing the item that had been in there out. "Here," He said sticking out his hand to drop the item in hers. She placed her hand under him and the item fell from his hand into her palm. She looked at it and wanted to cry. It was the flag pin that she had given him the day of the inauguration. "He told me about it…that you had gotten it for him. One of the agents found it in the ER. I thought since he can't use it right now that you would be the best person to hold on to it for him." He said pulling her to him for a hug. "The last year…has been a rollercoaster for all of us, but I need you to understand something. No matter what has happened with him and Amanda, and him and Mellie, he loves you with all his heart. He told you things were over because…he wanted to give you a chance to be happy without all the hiding and pain that came with him. I have known him for a long time, and I have never seen him as happy as he is with you. He has made some mistakes, but he lives his life for you. When he wakes up things are going to be different…he is going to need you. We all will," He finished and kissed her on top of her head.

She pulled away from him and gave him a weak smile of gratitude. Then they both started to panic when the machines in his room went off. Mellie had obviously woken up because she was screaming.

"Doctor! Doctor!" She kept yelling. Tom ran into the room and the doctor was not far behind. Olivia and Cyrus rushed in but Tom held them and Mellie out of the way of the doctor.

"Code blue! Code blue!" A voice said over the intercom. Olivia watched as they tried to resuscitate him. They used the paddles and performed CPR.

"Clear!" The doctor yelled and the nurses stepped back. Olivia covered her mouth with her hand when his body jerked up from the shock. "Clear!" He said again after a few seconds.

"Fitz…" She whispered, and due to the noise in the room Cyrus was the only one that heard. He grabbed her hand and they held on for dear life. The only thing she could hear after a second was the sound of the flat line, and every few minutes the sound of them shocking him. She closed her eyes, knowing she could not watch him die. She could not watch as the man she loves with all her heart leave her without her being able to apologize for pushing him away, and leaving him. She just couldn't watch that.

One more sound made it through to her ears. Beep…beep…beep. He was still alive.

**So there is chapter one…hope everyone likes it! Please review. **


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is the next chapter! I hope you guys like it. I won't deal with Huck being the shooter for a while if ever in this story…just to let you know. **

The second she heard the beeps informing them that he was breathing again she took a breath. She wiped away the tears as best as possible and turned to Cyrus and they embraced each other. Mellie was already back by his side, and Olivia knew she needed a minute. So Cyrus stayed in the room as she left. The tears were still falling as she hurried out of the room, and Cyrus motioned to Tom to keep and eye on her. Tom stepped out into the hallway and followed Olivia to a practically deserted part of the hospital. She stopped and leaned against the wall and bent over putting her hands on her knees and tried to stop the tears from falling. Tom stood their silently giving her all the time she needed. When she stood up he wanted to make sure she was ok though.

"Ms. Pope?" He asked quickly and she looked up not realizing that he had been there.

"I'm fine Tom…thank you," She said through the still falling tears. She tried to take a few steps, but finally the stress caught up with her and her knees buckled and she started to fall but Tom caught her quickly. She clung to him in that moment. He just held her as she cried. When the tears finally stopped she stood on her own.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"Of course ma'am," He said with a nod.

"Not just for this though…" She said looking at him. He gave her a questioning look.

"You knew about me and the President, practically since day one. He told me you are the one that found and deleted the video from the night of the inaugural balls. You helped keep our secret…thank you," She said seriously.

"Just doing my job ma'am, whatever is needed to protect the President," He said giving her a small smile. She nodded realizing he would say much more. They made their way back to Fitz's room just as the next shift of agents were arriving.

"Have a good night Tom," She said as she noticed all of them changing places.

"I'm not leaving ma'am," He said quickly. She looked at him quizzically.

"I volunteered not to leave the building ma'am. I will occasionally take an hour break, but other than that I'm with the President the entire time," He said and gave her a quick look. She smiled at him and nodded before heading back into the room.

She had quickly grown to respect Tom from the moment Fitz told her about the cameras in the Oval. In that moment she knew that Tom could be trusted and that he would do whatever it took to protect the President, even if that meant keeping one of the biggest secrets there was.

When Olivia walked back into the room she heard Cyrus and Mellie talking quietly. They both looked up when she walked in and Cyrus stood immediately. Mellie was holding something in her hand and the look a pure hatred that had been on her face when she first arrived and then had disappeared when Olivia told her that they both needed to be there, was back. Cyrus walked over to her and pulled her to a corner.

"Is everything ok?" Olivia asked nervous.

"We need to talk. All three of us, but I need you to promise to stay cool. I know you always do, but what we are about to talk about is going to catch you by surprise, and Mellie is still fuming, just don't freak out too much ok?" He asked giving her a look. She was even more confused now than ever, but nodded in agreement.

"Mellie," Cyrus said turning to her and taking the few steps needed to get where she was sitting. She held out the piece of paper and Olivia could tell she was trying not to yell. "We got a copy of his living Will," Cyrus said shortly and the tears came back to Olivia right away. "Don't worry, we just needed to look it over to see what his wishes were, we aren't even close to making a decision about anything," He said seeing the worry on her face.

"Then why…?" She didn't know what else to say.

"You are his power of attorney," Cyrus said and her eyes widened quickly and she looked straight at Mellie. That is why she had looked so pissed. Her eyes shot back to Cyrus and the confusion was back. "Apparently about a year ago, right after he won the election, he made changes to it without anyone knowing. My guess is that he did that on purpose. He didn't tell us because…well we both know why," He said referring to himself and Mellie. "He probably didn't tell you because he knew you would object. That doesn't matter now though. In the Will it says he doesn't want to be on machines for more than 30 days. When…if it gets to that point he wants to be taken off because of the lack of life. You are the one to make that call though," Cyrus said and the tears finally fell.

She didn't know what to say. She never would have thought that he would do this, especially with something of this importance. She wiped away the tears and looked to Mellie who was still pissed as anything.

"Mellie…" Olivia tried, but was stopped.

"No, we do not talk about this. We are not friends, you stole my husband from me, we do not talk about this," She said standing up and leaving the room. Olivia deflated a little and turned to Cyrus.

"I really had no idea…why would he do this?" She asked even though she knew the answer.

"He loves you," Cyrus said plainly. They both became silent and made their way over to stand on opposite sides of Fitz's bed. Olivia grabbed his hand and silently questioned why he never told her, even after it had been done and she couldn't stop him. A knock on the door had them both turning to look. Tom stepped in quickly.

"Ms. Pope…Senator Davis is here," Tom said simply. He looked to Olivia for what to do about it.

"I'll be right there," She said and Tom nodded before leaving the room. "I need to go handle him," She said looking at Cyrus.

"I'll be here when you get back," He said with a nod. She smiled slightly and left the room to go find a way to get Edison to stay out of this.

"Liv!" He said walking up to her quickly when she got to the main waiting room where he had been stopped by Secret Service. Tom was following behind her and stopped a few feet back to give them some space.

"Edison…you shouldn't be here," She said accepting the hug he offered.

"I needed to make sure that you were ok. You look exhausted Liv…you should go home and get some rest," He said seriously.

"I'm not leaving Edison. The only time I leave this building is to go do a briefing, then I am right back here," She said sternly.

"We have been seeing each other for weeks, and don't forget how well I know you. I have never seen you not sleep as much as you do now, I bet you would be more of a help if you were well rested," He said sincerely.

"I haven't slept in two years Edison…nothing new. Now please leave and let me do what I need to here," She said getting annoyed quickly.

"Liv, I want to stay and make sure you are ok, that's what boyfriends do," he said trying to calm her down.

"Fine, then you're not my boyfriend! Goodbye Edison," She said and shot a look to Tom who nodded and when Edison moved towards Olivia with a pained look on his face Tom stopped him.

"Sir, I am going to have to ask you to leave immediately. Your detail is waiting outside," Tom said with his hand up as he stood in between Edison and Olivia.

"Liv!" Edison said begging.

"Sir," Tom said more forcefully. Edison deflated and turned and walked out of the building. As Olivia made her way back upstairs to Fitz's room she heard Tom catch up to her, but he remained silent.

"Thank you," She said without even turning around.

"Ma'am," He said and she knew he would never admit that he was doing something other than his job. They got back to Fitz's room and she noticed Mellie's detail was gone. She walked back into the room and Cyrus looked up at her from his seat next to the bed. She sat across from him on the other side and grabbed Fitz's hand. She put her head next to his arm on the bed, and closed her eyes to try and get some rest.

**OFOFOFOFOFOF**

She woke with a start when she heard running outside the door. She looked up and saw Cyrus on his phone with his eyes wide, before he hung up.

"What's going on?" She asked quickly. She looked down at Fitz and felt a little better that he didn't look worse than when she had closed her eyes.

"Mellie's gone into labor," He said and Olivia stood quickly.

"The kids?" She asked knowing that it had been hard for them to stay at boarding school, instead of seeing their father.

"On their way. Marine One picked them up twenty minutes ago, they should be here within the hour," He said and they both rushed out into the hallway. Tom and Hal were waiting for them and rushed them to where Mellie had been sent. When they got to the waiting room nurses were waiting for them.

"Mr. Beene, Ms. Pope, they just took the First Lady back, her vitals were good, and they are expecting it to go well. The doctor will come talk to you as soon as they are done," She said and they both nodded before sitting down. This is not what they were expecting, but it didn't really surprise them because of the pressure and anxiety Mellie was feeling.

Twenty minutes later two agents burst through the door followed by two very stressed looking children. Cyrus and Olivia stood up immediately.

"Karen, Gerry," Liv said looking at them. She could tell they were both excited about a new sibling, and scared because of their dad.

"Liv!" Karen said first rushing to her and giving her a hug. Next came Gerry who also hugged her and the three of them stood there for a second.

"Your mom is gonna be fine guys. As soon as your brother is born, the doctor is gonna come out and talk to us," Cyrus said as sweetly as possible. He had never been good with children, but Karen and Gerry had gotten used to it during the campaign.

"How's dad?" Karen asked looking up at Olivia.

"He is being taken care of by the best doctors in the country," Olivia said trying to get them to stay calm.

"Can we go see him?" Gerry asked and it sounded like a plea.

Olivia looked to Cyrus who nodded. "How about we go now, and Cyrus will get us when the doctor is back about your mom and brother," Olivia said seriously.

"Yea," They both said quietly. Olivia nodded and led them to the room she knew all to well. Tom followed behind them along with their own detail. When they got to the door Olivia stopped them.

"You need to understand something guys. Your dad…he has been unconscious for a week now, he has a lot of wires and machines hooked up to him. You have to be really careful and it might be hard to see," She said and they nodded wordlessly. She assumed they had prepared themselves for this.

One of the agents posted at the door opened it and Karen walked in first followed by Gerry, then Olivia. Karen started crying right away and Gerry did his best not to. They stood next to his bed on either side and grabbed his hands. For ten minutes Olivia stood watching his kids beg him to wake up. They begged him to be ok, and it broke her heart even more seeing him surround by the two people he loved most in the world. When Tom knocked she jumped slightly and looked over as he walked in. He gave her a look and she nodded.

"Guys, the doctor is back about your mom and brother," She said and they took a second to say goodbye before they followed her back to the waiting room where Cyrus was. When they got there, the doctor was leaving.

"Hey guys," Cyrus said with a slight smile. "Your mom and brother are ok. They are taking your mom to a room, but you can go see your brother if you want," He said knowing this would lift their spirits. They smiled the best they could and followed Cyrus to where the newest member of the Grant family was waiting. They walked into the room and walked right up to his little crib.

"He is adorable," Karen said touching one of his tiny hands. Gerry just smiled at him. He had always wanted a little brother, and now he was looking at him. Olivia stood back and Tom stood near her as they watched as the kids did the one thing that could keep their minds off their dad.

Olivia heard someone say something to Tom through the earpiece but she couldn't understand what they were saying. His head snapped towards her and she got scared. He leaned over and whispered something in her ear.

"Hey guys, stay here with your brother. Your agents are going to be right outside the door if you need anything, I have to go do something ok?" Olivia said quickly and they just nodded since they were so focused on the tiny baby in front of them. She and Tom walked out as to not bring attention to them, but the second the door was closed they started running.

"When?" She asked as they rushed to their destination.

"Just a few seconds ago," Tom said quickly. They skidded to a halt when they got to the door. Cyrus was outside pacing back and forth. When he saw and heard them he looked up and nodded quickly before opening the door. They walked into the room and Olivia wanted to cry. The second she stepped through the doors, she was met with two eyes she thought she might lose. Fitz was awake.

**Ok so there is that chapter. I know there are requests for me to update other stories, and I will eventually, but I have lots of ideas for this story so I am going to focus on those right now! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So here is the update! Thanks for all the reviews on this and my other stories, I really appreciate them. For those of you who are looking for updates on other stories, I am going to try and update them soon, I finish finals on Friday then I have a lot more free time and hopefully will be able to update some of my other ones. Again thanks for the reviews!**

Her heart stopped when she saw his open eyes. The doctor walked past her and left the three of them in the room. She didn't know what to say and turned to Cyrus who looked at her and after a second stepped outside leaving them alone.

"Fitz..." She said and his eyes remained on hers. He didn't say anything for a few seconds and she just stood there.

"If I knew getting shot would make you call me by my name…" He tried to joke.

"Fitz…" She whispered again, this time more pain was in her voice.

"Sorry…" He said his voice raspy. She got him a cup of water before walking over to him slowly. She handed him the cup and their fingers touched. It sent a spark through her and her eyes closed briefly.

"Fitz…Karen and Gerry are in the building," She said wanting to change the subject.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Mellie…you have another son Fitz," She said and his face lit up.

"I…what?" He asked with that smile.

"About an hour ago…he is beautiful, he looks just like you," She said and a tear fell down her cheek.

"Hey!" He said grabbing her hand. "I have another son," He said and something dawned on him. "I'm sorry," He said letting go of your hand. "You are probably here to fix everything…you're with Edison now…I'm sorry," He said looking down.

"I broke it off," She said seriously.

"What?" He asked his head shooting up.

"Seeing you get shot…knowing that you could have died. I just couldn't keep lying to myself. I thought I wasn't going to get to say goodbye. I am so sorry for pushing you away, but you have a new son now…I shouldn't mess that up," She said turning, but his hand caught hers and she turned towards him.

"I am so happy that I have another son. I love my children with all my heart, but me loving them and being there for them doesn't mean letting you walk away again. I love you so much Olivia, that it hurts when you are gone. If you are willing to give us another shot…nothing will stand in my way of us being happy together," He said and a tear slipped down her cheek.

"You want to meet him?" She asked avoiding giving him any kind of answer. He looked disappointed, but tried to hide it.

"Yea," He said putting on a smile. He knew she loved him, but she always put other things before them, without asking him first. She turned to go talk to the doctor to get him out of the room.

"Oh…and Fitz?" She asked turning back towards him. He gave her a look of confusion. She walked over to him and kissed him briefly. In that brief moment though, his whole world lit up even more than knowing he had another son. He also had her. She walked out of the room to get the doctor who came in with a few nurses and helped him to a wheel chair. Tom pushed him down the hallway with Cyrus and Olivia walking on either side of him. When they got to the nursery Karen and Gerry were walking out and were shocked to see their father.

"Dad!" They said running up to him. They were careful in hugging him avoiding his wounds as best as possible.

"I missed you guys so much!" He said having not seen them in a few months since they were at boarding school.

"We were so scared daddy," Karen said seriously.

"I am way to stubborn to let something as small as a bullet stop me," He said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "Now how about you introduce me to your new brother," He said and they both jumped at the chance. They rushed into the room. Tom started pushing him and Fitz turned to Olivia. He stuck out his hand and she gave him a look that begged him not to, but he didn't want to do this without her. She eventually pushed his hand down but walked in with him. She stood near the door as he was pushed up to the crib. He was awestruck by how adorable he was. He forgot how much he loved babies. A nurse walked in a few seconds later and offered to let him hold him. He nodded wordlessly. She picked his sleeping form up and put him in Fitz's arms. He looked down at him and immediately felt all the love he possibly could for him. With Karen and Gerry standing on either side of him, they just stared at the baby. When he opened his eyes a tear fell down Fitz's cheek.

"Hey buddy," He said with a huge smile. The baby smiled and Karen and Gerry got all excited about it. He turned around to look at Olivia and noticed she was gone. He frowned for a second but smiled again looking at his son. The door opened and he thought it would be Olivia, but when he turned his head he was surprised to see Mellie.

"Fitz!" She said seeming excited. Gerry turned his wheelchair to face Mellie. She walked over to the four of them and smiled at her new son. "I am so happy that you are awake, we were all so worried," She said with actually sincerely. She pulled up a chair and sat down and Fitz handed her their son.

"What should we name him?" She asked not taking her eyes away from him in her arms.

"Seth…" Fitz whispered.

"Seth sounds great," Mellie said with a smile.

"Seth Michael?" Gerry said from behind them.

"That sounds great buddy," Fitz said bringing his son to his side using his good arm. His left arm hurt from the bullet hitting the left side of his chest.

"What did the doctors say?" Mellie said looking up at Fitz.

"Surprised at how much I remember. All my levels are good, and while it will be a long road of rehab, I should be fine," He said seriously.

"Good," She said looking back down. "How about we take him back to my room?" She asked looking up at the three in front of her.

"Yea!" Karen and Gerry said quickly.

"I need to go back to my room and lie down, but I'll come by in a little," Fitz said partially because he was exhausted, but also because he wanted to see Olivia and make sure she was ok.

"Ok," She said standing up and putting Seth back in his crib. They, with the help of the nurse, rolled the crib to Mellie's room. Tom rolled Fitz back to his room.

"Where is she?" He asked once they were out of earshot of everyone else.

"She and Mr. Beene went back to your room," Tom said as they rounded the corner for his room. He just nodded. When they got to his room Cyrus was standing outside. He gave Fitz a look, which told him Olivia was upset. He nodded once again Tom pushed him into his room. Olivia stood quickly when he entered. She remained silent as Tom helped him back into the bed. When he left Tom closed the door behind him.

"Livi…" He said hoping she would come over to the bed away from the wall she was standing against.

"I'm sorry," She whispered.

"For what?" He asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I saw you with your son…I just couldn't stand there anymore. The love you have for him even though you first met him. I am guessing it comes with being a parent…a long time ago…I had hoped I would one day have your children, and seeing you with him, made me realize that probably won't happen," She said tears rolling down her cheek.

"Oh god Liv!" He said stick out his hand. She hesitated but eventually walked over to him. He pulled her down to make her sit next to him on the bed. "We can have kids one day…gosh I would love to have kids with you now. Just because Seth was born…doesn't mean we won't have our chance," He said sincerely. More tears rolled down her cheeks. "What?" He asked not knowing if she believed him.

"Seth?" She asked through the tears.

"Yea," He said with a smile. "Seth Michael,"

"He looks exactly like you Fitz," She whispered. His hand came up and wiped away the tears from her cheeks.

"We will get our chance, and if lucky, our child will look just like you," He said and more tears fell. "If I've learned anything from all of this, it is that I am not willing to keep us a secret anymore. You deserve someone who dedicates their life to making you happy, and I want to be that man. I want you to be the last thing I see before I go to bed at night, and the first thing I see when I wake up. I want to raise children with you. I want…need you in my life. When I get out of here, I am going to sit down with Karen and Gerry and explain everything. Then I am going to file for divorce. No matter what you or anyone else says, I am doing it. I am done living a lie and I am done living without you. We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow or the day after that. We can never know what is going to happen in the future, and I am not willing to risk ever losing you," He said pulling her down to him and kissing him.

"Cyrus might throw a fit," She whispered and he laughed.

"I love you Olivia Carolyn Pope, and I am going to tell the world," He said and she finally smiled at him.

"I love you too…forever," She whispered and leaned down to kiss him again. She poured everything into that kiss. She was done pushing him away, she couldn't even think about losing him, and she was so happy that she got her second chance with him. Not everything is once in a lifetime.

**THE END! Yay! What do you think?**


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